Storm Ophelia batters Ireland and northern England

Storm Ophelia is battering Scotland and northern England after leaving several people dead and hundreds of thousands without power in Ireland.

The former Atlantic hurricane downed trees and power lines, sent waves surging over coastal defenses and disrupted transport again Tuesday, a day after making landfall on Ireland’s south coast with gusts of almost 100 miles an hour (160 kilometers an hour).

Britain’s Met Office weather service said Scotland could see heavy rain and gusts of up to 70 mph (113 kph), with winds gradually diminishing through Tuesday.

Parts of southern Norway reported a smoky smell on Tuesday morning, which the local meteorological institute said it was likely carried there by Ophelia from the wave of forest fires in Portugal and Spain that killed at least 41 people over the weekend.

In Sweden, people in the capital of Stockholm and elsewhere launched a flurry of calls to authorities, saying the skies were much darker than usual Tuesday morning.

That was also probably due to Ophelia’s strong winds, which carried a mix of red sand from the Sahara and tiny particles from the Iberian forest fires across western Europe. (AP)